Imagine that after Maison Blanche shuttered its doors, Mr. Bingle found himself without a job. Had he moved to “Avenue Q,” he’d likely pick up work as a barker outside a Bourbon Street strip joint. Pete the Penguin would’ve become a strung out gutter punk.

“Avenue Q” – a sort of "Sesame Street” on the skids – returns to local boards, via the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, with its life lessons moving well beyond learning the alphabet (unless the letters are S, T and D) and the magic of numbers. The residents here learn that they’re not so special, after all; an English degree is unlikely to land you a job; and that everyone harbors, at least, a little racism.

When the national touring company of “Avenue Q” first played here a few years ago, I tired quickly of its raunchy and sophomoric humor. But despite lingering misgivings about the show itself, I found the intimacy of the current JPAS production beneficial to the piece, while maintaining its adults-only nature.

Have no doubt, with songs such as “It Sucks to Be Me,” Rodgers and Hammerstein it’s not. But director “Uncle” Wayne Daigrepont brings the show back to its simpler Off-Broadway origins and with a strong cast is able to find the heart of the work amid all the naughty laughs.

Other residents of 'Avenue Q' include, from left, Dwayne Sepcich and Allee Peck are the Bad Idea Bears with Whitney Mixon as Gary Coleman. Yes, that Gary Coleman.JPAS

Using large puppets as the primary characters, “Avenue Q” addresses the problems of life, love and purpose in the modern world. While the puppetry brings out an inherent charm of the characters, the show (not to mention Jim Henson’s estate) makes it clear that these are not Muppets. Their profane, often vulgar lines prove we’ve come a long way from Topo Gigio or Howdy Doody.

In creating the denizens of “Avenue Q,” one of the prime challenges is that the puppeteers are visible on stage. This has been a distraction, but Daigrepont’s cast overcomes it and manages to sustain the audience’s suspension of disbelief and remain focused on the puppet characters, not their operators. Distinct personalities can emerge.

The main plot of the show revolves around the budding relationship between Princeton, a yuppie post-grad, and Kate Monster, a sweet, lonely schoolteacher. Scott Sauber and Katie Coplen Bourg give the pair their charm and a genuine appeal.

Among other characters they play, Robert Facio gives a funny, repressed performance as Rod, the buttoned-down and closeted gay resident of the tenement; his “roommate,” Nicky, is given a real sense of perplexity by Dwayne Sepcich Jr. (If Rod and Nicky happen to look a lot like Bert and Ernie, surely that's just a coincidence.) Allee Peck handles a variety of roles, including Lucy the Slut, with a boom-chucka-boom panache.

Audiences should be warned that they will be presented with live sex acts on stage, featuring full frontal felt puppet nudity.

Of the several human characters, Whitney Nicole Mixon plays the building’s super, Gary Coleman. Yes, that Gary Coleman. Several years after the former child star’s death may have lessened the intensity of it, but including him as a character fallen to such levels remains a crass joke. But then, that’s the level of humor of most of the show.

AVENUE Q

What: The Jefferson Performing Arts Society presents the Tony Award-winning musical about a recent college grad and his friends – most of whom are puppets – all trying to make their way in the world from their shabby tenement building on Avenue Q. “Uncle” Wayne Daigrepont directs. The cast includes Scott Sauber, Katie Coplen Bourg, Robert Facio, Dwayne Sepcich Jr., Bryce Huey Turgeon, Anna Toujas, Whitney Nicole Mixon and Allee Peck.

Where: Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox St., Metairie.

When: Performances at 7:30 Saturday and 3 Sunday, through Jan. 20. The production moves to the North Star Theatre in Mandeville Jan. 25-27.

Admission: $18-$30 for adults; $15-$27 for seniors and military; $15-$20 for students. For information, call 504.885.2000 or visit the www.JPAS.org.

The other human couple is played by Bryce Huey Turgeon as Brian, the wannabe stand-up comic who can’t quite catch a break in life. Turgeon captures the nice guy/lovable loser well. Anna Toujas just about steals the show as his diminutive Japanese wife, with the unusual name of Christmas Eve. Playing the broadest of stereotypes for undeniable laughs, Toujas gets lines with such transposed diction as, “The more you rove someone, the more he make you cly.” The image of her in her wedding dress (which aptly fits her name) is one of the show’s best sight gags.

Daigrepont keeps things moving well, and finds the right tone that fits the silliness of it all. His background as the longtime operator of Porta-Puppet Players gives him a deeper appreciation of the art of puppetry that translates here.

That said, “Avenue Q” remains a trifle that is difficult to maintain for its nearly 2½-hour running time. Cutting a good half hour, as well as the intermission would benefit the piece immensely.

Nevertheless, the current production works significantly better than the national tour did. You will laugh, often in spite of yourself, or the fact the the show represents a continuing coarsening of our culture. Just be sure to leave the kids at home for this one.